Concept of Self-perception In Adolescents
- whereemotionsflow
- Nov 19, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 27, 2024
By: Aisha Siyal
Abstract
This report provides an overview of adolescents' self-perception, encompassing the development of attitudes, personalities, self-concept dept of how individuals form attitudes and personalities, the complexities of self-concept development during adolescence, the different identity statuses that individuals may experience, and the influence of parental behaviors on self-perception and emotional well-being. The self-perception theory suggests that people form their attitudes and personalities by observing their behavior. Adolescents, in particular, may feel conflicted about their self-perception as they develop their self-concept. Their self-esteem is closely linked to self-perception, which is influenced by the importance they attribute to different aspects of themselves. Furthermore, parental behavior can significantly impact an individual's self-perception and emotional well-being. Positive experiences with parents during childhood are linked to a positive self-image, while negative experiences may lead to emotional difficulties. As well, during adolescence, body image has a profound impact on an individual’s personal and social identity.
Keywords: Perception in adolescents, self-perception theory, self-concept, identity, adolescents, emotions, attitudes, personalities, self-esteem, parental behavior, emotional well-being, body image, cognitive development, identity diffusion, self-descriptions, abstract thinking.
Self Perception
Self-perception is the view we have about ourselves, our characteristics, and the judgments we make about the traits we have. Self-perception includes our self-concept (the image we have in our heads of who we are) and our self-esteem (how we judge the characteristics we possess). Self-perspective is a term that has the same meaning as self-perception. A person's image of themselves, including their physical, mental, or social attributes is what makes up self-perception.
Theory of self-perception
Self-perception theory says that people learn about their own attitudes and character traits by observing their behavior. This mainly happens when we are unclear about our feelings toward something, and then go on to attribute our attitude or belief to some realization around our behavior. It is very much the same way we would infer another individual's attitudes and personalities by observing their behavior. The self-perception theory is counterintuitive because people usually think they already know themselves and their character traits, so it does not make sense to a person that they would base their thoughts about something on their behavior. Normally, a person would base their behavior on their thoughts and feelings about something. In self-perception theory, this is not the case. In this theory, people form their attitudes by observing their behavior and forming a conclusion on what must have caused their perceptions. Using this logic, people conclude their emotions by observing what they do and how they act.
Self Perception, Self Concept, and Identity in Adolescents
In adolescence, teens continue to develop their self-concept. Their ability to think of the possibilities and to reason more abstractly may explain the further differentiation of the self during adolescence. However, the teen’s understanding of self is often full of contradictions. In adolescence, teens may feel conflicted about their self-perception. They might see themselves as outgoing but also withdrawn, happy yet often moody, and both smart and clueless. This can lead them to feel like they're not being true to themselves. They might act differently with their parents, friends, and at work, which can make them question their true identity. Adolescents often emphasize traits such as being friendly and considerate, showing that they are increasingly concerned about how others perceive them. Older teens also add values and moral standards to their self-descriptions. These contradictions, along with the teen’s growing recognition that their personality and behavior seem to change depending on who they are with or where they are, can lead the young teen to feel like a fraud. They are quiet and cautious. “Which one is me?” may be the refrain of the young teenager.
During adolescence, the domains of self-concept play a crucial role in shaping self-esteem, which is closely linked to self-perception. The importance that individuals attribute to these domains significantly influences their overall judgment and sense of self-worth. As cognitive development progresses and adolescents interact with a greater number of contexts, their self-descriptions transition from concrete to a more abstract level. This developmental shift allows adolescents to gradually recognize the variability of their attributes and behaviors across different contexts, contributing to a more nuanced and complex understanding of their self-concept and, by extension, their self-perception.
The least mature status, and one common in many children, is identity diffusion. Identity diffusion is a status that characterizes those who have not explored the option of committing an identity. Those who persist in this identity may drift aimlessly with little connection to those around them or have little sense of purpose in life.
Those in identity foreclosure have committed to identity without having explored the options. Some parents may make these decisions for their children and do not grant the teen the opportunity to make choices. In other instances, teens may strongly identify with parents and others in their lives and wish to follow in their footsteps.
Identity moratorium is a status that describes those who are actively exploring in an attempt to establish an identity but have yet to make any commitment. This can be an anxious and emotionally tense period as the adolescent experiments with different roles and explores various beliefs. Nothing is certain and there are many questions, but few answers.
Identity achievement refers to those who, after exploration, have committed. This is a long process and is not often achieved by the end of adolescence.
Self-Perception and Impact of Parental Behaviors
According to several developmental theories, self-perception may become organized via the internalization of early interpersonal relationships. Positive experiences with significant figures in childhood are of considerable importance in the attainment of positive self-perception and healthy development. Current research supports the idea that parental behavior perceived as pressure (in terms of warmth) during childhood is linked to a posanti-social image, whereas parental behavior perceived as negative (in the sense of absence of warmth) is linked to emotional difficulties, such as anxiety and depression.
Second, autonomy and separateness from the parents may also appear to be of importance. Adequate parental supervision has been linked to healthy development and better adjustment in adolescents, whereas excessive control and/or overprotective parenting may be linked to a range of emotional difficulties.
Studies have found that positive and stable self-perception in young adults is linked to a positive perception of parental behaviors toward them in childhood in terms of warmth and autonomy. Adolescents perceive their relationships with their parents as warm and display fewer symptoms of depression and fewer behavioral problems.
Under pressure, adolescents with borderline personality attributes and anti-social tendencies may show negative self-perception and negative perception of their parent’s behavior toward them. In particular, the perception of the parents as attacking may lead to the pressure of extremely negative self-perception.
Self-perception and Peers
As children become adolescents, they usually begin spending more time with their peers and less time with their families, and these peer interactions are increasingly unsupervised by adults. Children’s notions of friendship often focus on shared activities, whereas adolescents’ notions of friendship increasingly focus on intimate exchanges of thoughts and feelings. During adolescence, peer groups evolve from primarily single-sex to mixed-sex. Adolescents within a peer group tend to be similar to one another in behavior and attitudes, which has been explained as a function of homophily. Adolescents who spend time together also shape each other’s behavior and attitudes.
Peers can serve both positive and negative functions during adolescence. Negative peer pressure can lead adolescents to make riskier decisions or engage in more problematic behavior than they would alone or in the presence of their family.
Although romantic relationships during adolescence are often short-lived rather than long-term committed partnerships, their importance should not be minimized. Adolescents spend a great deal of time focused on romantic relationships, and their positive and negative emotions are more tied to romantic relationships, or lack thereof than to friendships, family relationships, or school. Romantic relationships contribute to adolescents’ identity formation, changes in family and peer relationships, and emotional and behavioral adjustment. Furthermore, romantic relationships are centrally connected to adolescents’ emerging sexuality. Parents, policymakers, and researchers have devoted a great deal of attention to adolescents’ sexuality, in large part because of concerns related to sexual intercourse, contraception, and preventing teen pregnancies.
Contribution of emotional intelligence
In adolescence, several studies found a relationship between perceived emotional intelligence and psychological adjustment. Furthermore, associations were found between high clarity of feelings and high mood repair with low levels of depression, anxiety, and school maladjustment. It is argued that telieSelf-perception is to prolong positive moods and interrupt negative ones, ensuring a good level of mental health. Moreover, an observed correlation between high attention to feelings with high levels of depression, when levels of clarity of feelings and mood repair are low. At the same time, perceived emotional intelligence correlates positively with prosocial attitudes related to social competence, such as leadership, cooperation, and social sensitivity. Furthermore, moderate significant correlations are found between perceived emotional intelligence and academic achievement.
Self-perception in terms of Body image
The problem of body image, self-perception, and dissatisfaction with one’s appearance is widely discussed in anthropological and medical literature. Proper care and body image, especially during adolescence, are social issues. Self-perception is described as an evaluative judgment within discrete domains such as physical appearance, cognitive competence, athletic competence, social acceptance, license, and so forth. Thus, self-perception develops through experience in the social and physical environment, interactions with significant others, and individual behavioral traits. As children develop a sense of themselves, interact with the world, and gain experiences, their self-concept is affected.
The physical conditions the body undergoes during adolescence have a profound impact on an individual’s personal and social identity. Adolescents who experience earlier physical development are more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior than their peers, and those who develop slower are more likely to face bullying. Early-maturing adolescents are at greater risk for delinquency and are more likely to engage in antisocial behaviors, including drug and alcohol use, and precocious sexual activity compared to their peers. For this reason, the process of forming physical self-perception can be considered inherent to this age and can also influence physical exercise habits. Adolescents face many challenges; such as solidifying their personality, accepting physical changes, leaving their families, building norms and moral values, choosing a career, and becoming contributing members of society. These serious developmental challenges and potential sources of stress can be detrimental to the development of healthy self-perception and positive body image. High self-perception and a positive body image have a positive impact on an individual’s quality of life, performance, and relationships. Adolescents who fail to develop a positive body image and self-perception are at risk of depression, other health conditions, and related personal problems.
References
1. RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol., 19 January 2024
Lifespan development Self-concept and Self-esteem in Adolescence
2. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-lifespandevelopment/chapter/self-concept-and-se lf-esteem-in-adolescence/#:~:text=In%20adolescence%2C%20teens%20continue%20to,i s%20often%20full%20of%20contradictions
3. International Comparison of Self-Concept, Self-Perception and Lifestyle in Adolescents: A Systematic Review
Int J Public Health. 2022; 67: 1604954. Published online 2022 Sep 29. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604954
PMCID: PMC9556634PMID: 36250150
4. By Kendra Cherry, MSEd What Is Perception?Recognizing Environmental Stimuli Through the Five Senses
https://www.verywellmind.com/perception-and-the-perceptual-process-2795839 5. Decision Lab, self perception theory
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